Breathe Again
by Liesel Meminger
Summary: "I think there's a way of getting Calvin back to you". Elliot gives her hope, but will they be able to bring Calvin back where he belongs? Olivia/Calvin centered, eventual E/O romance.


_Disclaimer: _None of the characters mentioned in this page belong to me. Yet.

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"_I think there'__s a way of getting Calvin back to you"_

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**Monday, 9:23 a.m., Central Park**

"So, what have you got for me?" Olivia said as she walked toward the crime scene.

"Female victim, no ID, possibly on her early 20s, found in her underwear by a guy walking his dog" Melinda pointed to a man, visibly shaken, standing a few feet away from them, talking to a police officer "Ligature marks on her wrists, and visible irritation on her inner thighs. Can't say she was raped without running a kit. Been dead for seven to eight hours. ."

"He cut a chunk of her hair" Olivia pointed out, crouching down to take a better look on the woman.

"Where?" Melinda asked, and the detective indicated the area where a part of the victim's long blonde hair was chopped out. "Well, there's your first clue"

Olivia snorted sarcastically, looking at the face of the young woman lying dead on the ground in front of her. _She had her whole life ahead of her_, Olivia thought.

"I don't suppose you have a cause of death?" she asked the ME.

"Not until I open her up" Melinda answered as she took notes on her chart. She asked wearily "Where's that arrogant partner of yours?"

"No idea. I'm flying solo today."

"Nice to have a break"

"Oh, come on, Melinda. He's a nice guy" Olivia laughed.

"Yeah, right" Melinda smiled.

"Are you gonna run her prints?" Olivia asked, and received a nod from the other woman "Alright, then call me when you get an ID. Or a cause of death. Or both."

"Sure. Say hello to Elliot for me"

"Alright" she said as she walked away, knowing Melinda's feud with Elliot was only a joke.

As Olivia reached her car, her mind already going through many possible case scenarios to explain the victim's death, her cell phone rang.

"Hey, El" she greeted as she slid to the driver's seat. "Ok" she said slowly as she paid close attention to what her partner was saying on the other side of the line. "I'll be there in five"

She hung up and drove away.

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She opened the door to the diner and spotted her partner sitting in a booth by the window.

"Hey" she smiled as she sat in front of him "What's up? I didn't see you this morning."

"Yeah, I was out running some errands" He returned her smile and pushed a cup of tea in her direction.

"Thanks" she took a sip "What's going on? What do you want to talk to me about?"

When he called her earlier, he had said he needed to talk to her, but it would be best if they did it outside the precinct. That had been enough to spike Olivia's curiosity and send her running to the place he said they could meet.

His eyes searched the place nervously, as if looking for an excuse to not have to say what he was about to say. Several times he opened his mouth to start a sentence, but no word came out.

"El? What's wrong?" she asked, worry lines beginning to take over her face. She had seen him like this only once before, when he asked her to read his divorce papers before he signed them, something he hadn't been able to do himself.

"Nothing's wrong. But I…" He looked directly at her for the first time that day, and his eyes seemed to be saying both 'I'm sorry' and "I'm happy for you'.

She looked back at him, confused.

"Elliot?" she urged.

He sighed "I think there's a way of getting Calvin back to you"

Her deep brown eyes widened instantaneously. "What?"

He smiled subtly "That's why I wasn't at the precinct this morning. Ever since they took him away, I've been trying to find a crack in the law that could bring him back. Yesterday a buddy of mine who now works in the Vancouver PD called me, and…"

"What are you talking about, Elliot?" He noticed her eyes were filled with unshed tears, and her breath had quickened "I can't get Calvin back. He's with his grandparents. I'm not… I can't have him"

"That's what I'm trying to say" He reached out over the table to squeeze her hand "There _is _a way of…"

"No" she said firmly "He's not my son. I can't have him. Vivian said so" Tears started to slowly make their way down her face. "He's not… It's not like we are related… There's no way… I would've known…"

Elliot noticed she was paying no attention to him anymore. "Liv. Listen to me. Liv!" he called, scared she would start hyperventilating. "Liv!"

She seemed to snap out of it and looked at him intently "I'm sorry you went through the trouble, Elliot, but I can't have Calvin. I can't have him"

With that, she stood up and left.

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A.N.: So, what do you think? Worth continuing? There will be a plausible explanation for Liv running away, and I promise a lot of Calvin in later chapters. Please, let me know what you think about this one!


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